When extended length magazines, that are suited for carrying cartridges in full-size handguns, are used in compact automatic and semiautomatic handguns that were designed for smaller magazines that fit snugly into the grip of the handgun and carried fewer rounds, there was determined to be a need to be able to adapt the extended length magazine to fit the compact handguns designed for the shorter magazines. When unaltered extended length magazines are used in place of the shorter magazines a portion of that magazine protrudes below the bottom of the grip. This leaves a gap that can cause several problems. The protruding portion of the magazine is prone to catching on clothing or other objects, the gap between the grip and the bottom of the magazine leaves a portion of the magazine subject to dirt, moisture or other environmental contaminants and doesn't provided a continuous surface for the users to wrap their hands around to obtain a secure grip.
Existing art such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,160 (1986) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,720 (1985) both to Bross, show a pommel attaching to a magazine floor plate, where said floor plate is customized to accept and hold the attached pommel. The present invention does not require any modification or customization to the magazine foot plate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,619 (1989) to Baldus teaches an adapter that uses a magazine floor plate of a specific type (sliding type) to anchor the adapter to the magazine. Baldus therefore requires some disassembly and reassembly of the magazine in order to incorporate the adapter. The present invention does not. U.S. Pat. No. 5,438,783 (1995) to Sniezak and Dionne shows a customized magazine and butt plate combination that are securely assembled together. The present invention may be attached and detached from any magazine without customizing the magazine. This permits the present invention to be attached to existing magazines without any magazine modification or the use of “special” magazines. U.S. Pat. No. 6,557,287 (2003) to Wollmann teaches a magazine extension to a standard length magazine that extends the magazine capacity and increases the grip length of a handgun. The cavity of the extension holds the extra cartridges. The present invention does not introduce any increased capacity and does not modify or otherwise change the mechanism or operation of an existing magazine. U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,065 (1999) to Pearce shows a floor plate for a handgun magazine that is designed to seat and act as a base for the usual pressure transmission plate of the magazine spring. This again requires a modification of the handgun magazine so that the Pearce invention may be implemented.